Page 14 of Thief of Dreams
"Can I trust your intentions," he muses, "when you seed your truths with lies? Can I trust your keenness when you admit you have doubts? When your father no doubt pushed you to accept this invitation?"
"Can I trust my prince when he offers me the world but admits there are conditions? As for truth, you asked me why I'm here." Heart pounding at his nearness, I glance up. "I'm here to see if I can steal your heart. It's the only thing I'm interested in."
His eyes narrow. "That almost sounds like truth."
That's because it is.
I just didn't say which heart I meant.
Pressing a hand to his bare chest, I almost gasp at the heat of his skin. His pulse races beneath my palm.
What would it be like to allow this?
To let him steal a kiss?
It isn't in the plan.
But for just one moment, I long for it.
What would it be like to know love? To know trust? They're words woven of golden dreams, but they tempt like nothing else can.
Even as they ruin me.
There can be nothing but betrayal between us. One day this male will be my enemy. I despise the role my father has forced upon me, because what the prince wants is tempting.
I have known nothing but betrayal my entire life.
I have become its instrument, and I hate what the Wraith King has wrought of me. What is the price of a soul? The downfall of another? War? Death?
Hate?
I can bear these things, for the taste of freedom is even more tempting than the idea of this dark prince's heart. But the thought burns, set ablaze in my chest.
Prince Keir must see the hint of longing in my eyes, for he leans down and his lips come into focus for the first time all night. For such a harsh, intense face, his mouth is pure softness, pure sin. I freeze as I realize exactly what he intends.
But it's not with horror.
All of that heat cages me in, my breasts suddenly straining for the press of his chest to mine. It's been years since I've tasted the flesh of another's body or danced that wicked dance.
His breath whispers over my sensitive lips, and I realize I'm going to allow this. Worse. I intend to relish every moment of it—
And that's when the screaming starts.
5
We jerk apart, and suddenly blood rushes back into my brain. What was I even thinking? Or was I thinking at all? For none of this was in the plan.
Saved by someone's scream.
"Stay there!" Keir snarls, and then he's vanishing into the gardens, sprinting toward the castle.
Fae males and their arrogance. Oh, let me swoon.
I haul my skirts up and find one of the blades strapped to my thigh. More screams are pealing through the air. Perhaps Soraya grew weary of waiting for me. Maybe she's slaughtering that precious flock of doves inside.
Or maybe Ismena or Narcissa had the poor sense to mock my sister.
One can hope.
